Hi
Im a newbie to gardening and in our garden we had a patch of lovely lily of
the valley come up, and next to it I have a Hellabora (sp)
However the blooms have all gone brown now on the lily of the valley, and
what I want to know is do I leave them to die down naturally or cut them
back?
Also, my Hellabora has got brown spots on the leaves and is very droopy -
any ideas? They are next to each other, but other plants in the same area
are fine

Thank you!

Scott - Gatwick -South Facing Garden

On Sun, 29 May 2005 15:25:33 +0000 (UTC), "scott"
wrote:

Hi
Im a newbie to gardening and in our garden we had a patch of lovely lily of
the valley come up, and next to it I have a Hellabora (sp)
However the blooms have all gone brown now on the lily of the valley, and
what I want to know is do I leave them to die down naturally or cut them
back?
Also, my Hellabora has got brown spots on the leaves and is very droopy -
any ideas? They are next to each other, but other plants in the same area
are fine

Thank you!

Scott - Gatwick -South Facing Garden

Leave the L-of-V to die down naturally.
Are all the leaves on your heelebore spotty or just some?
If they look old and leathery, they are last year's leaves and should
be cut off near the base. Next year cut the old leaves off in early
Spring, just as new growth is starting.
If cutting the old leaves off leaves you with nice healthy green ones
you are doing it right. If they are all spotty, you have further
problems which I cannot identify.


Pam in Bristol

Pam Moore wrote in message
...
On Sun, 29 May 2005 15:25:33 +0000 (UTC), "scott"
wrote:

Hi
Im a newbie to gardening and in our garden we had a patch of lovely lily
of
the valley come up, and next to it I have a Hellabora (sp)
However the blooms have all gone brown now on the lily of the valley, and
what I want to know is do I leave them to die down naturally or cut them
back?
Also, my Hellabora has got brown spots on the leaves and is very droopy -
any ideas? They are next to each other, but other plants in the same area
are fine

Thank you!

Scott - Gatwick -South Facing Garden

Leave the L-of-V to die down naturally.
Are all the leaves on your heelebore spotty or just some?
If they look old and leathery, they are last year's leaves and should
be cut off near the base. Next year cut the old leaves off in early
Spring, just as new growth is starting.
If cutting the old leaves off leaves you with nice healthy green ones
you are doing it right. If they are all spotty, you have further
problems which I cannot identify.

Pam in Bristol

Hi Scott,

I agree with Pam re LofV.

As Pam says, you should remove old Hellebore leaves in early spring as new
growth starts. The brown spotting you're seeing is almost certainly Leaf
Spot Fungus. It is very important to remove marked leaves to keep the plant
clean, otherwise the fungal spores will spread to the entire plant.
Hellebore Leaf Spot can eventually kill a plant if infestation is severe,
although this is relatively rare.

The drooping is probably due to water shortage. Hellebores like reliably
moist soil, although some cope with drier conditions better than others. I
suggest you remove spotted leaves to clean up the plant, water thoroughly,
then spread a mulch around the plant to hold that moisture in and to stop
fungal spores reinfecting the plant. Once the plant improves (fingers
crossed), feed it to give it a boost. Also, try keep up with the watering.

Spider

Thanks for your helpful replies - much appreciated!
Scott



"Spider" wrote in message
...

Pam Moore wrote in message
...
On Sun, 29 May 2005 15:25:33 +0000 (UTC), "scott"
wrote:

Hi
Im a newbie to gardening and in our garden we had a patch of lovely lily
of
the valley come up, and next to it I have a Hellabora (sp)
However the blooms have all gone brown now on the lily of the valley,
and
what I want to know is do I leave them to die down naturally or cut them
back?
Also, my Hellabora has got brown spots on the leaves and is very
droopy -
any ideas? They are next to each other, but other plants in the same
area
are fine

Thank you!

Scott - Gatwick -South Facing Garden

Leave the L-of-V to die down naturally.
Are all the leaves on your heelebore spotty or just some?
If they look old and leathery, they are last year's leaves and should
be cut off near the base. Next year cut the old leaves off in early
Spring, just as new growth is starting.
If cutting the old leaves off leaves you with nice healthy green ones
you are doing it right. If they are all spotty, you have further
problems which I cannot identify.

Pam in Bristol

Hi Scott,

I agree with Pam re LofV.

As Pam says, you should remove old Hellebore leaves in early spring as new
growth starts. The brown spotting you're seeing is almost certainly Leaf
Spot Fungus. It is very important to remove marked leaves to keep the
plant
clean, otherwise the fungal spores will spread to the entire plant.
Hellebore Leaf Spot can eventually kill a plant if infestation is severe,
although this is relatively rare.

The drooping is probably due to water shortage. Hellebores like reliably
moist soil, although some cope with drier conditions better than others.
I
suggest you remove spotted leaves to clean up the plant, water thoroughly,
then spread a mulch around the plant to hold that moisture in and to stop
fungal spores reinfecting the plant. Once the plant improves (fingers
crossed), feed it to give it a boost. Also, try keep up with the
watering.

Spider